Bowling alley and method of repairing same



My 5, 1936. B, BQRDERS 2,039,580

BOWLING ALLEY AND METHOD OF REPAIRING SAME Filed March 6, 1935 PatentedMay 5, 1936 PATENT QFFECE BOWLING ALLEY AND METHOD F REPAIRING SAME BeeBorders, Springfield, Vt.

Application March 6, 1935, Serial No. 9,580

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in bowling alleys and moreparticularly to improvements in the approach portion of bowling alleys,that is, the portion of the alley which is trod upon by persons usingthe alley, this portion extending up to and terminating at the foulline. In most bowling alleys, the wear and tear on the approach portionis far more rapid than that on the portion of the alley beyond the foulline. When any portion of the alley becomes considerably worn so as tobe out of level, it isusually necessary to plane olf the entire surfaceof the alley or to rebuild the alley if the alley is to be kept in rstclass condition. In either event, a considerable expense is incurred andthe repairs necessarily occupy a considerable period of time duringwhich the alley cannot be used. It is an object of the present inventionto provide means for replacing the rapidly wearing portion of the alleyquickly and economically so that the interruption in the use of thealley is negligible. To this end the approach portion of the alley,according to the invention, includes a removable surface portion iiushwith the main part of the alley. The removable portion may be in theform of a platform which can be shimmed up from time to time as itbecomes necessary to plane off the upper surface thereof. In this way,the platform can be repaired from time to time without disturbing theremainder of the alley.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference may be hadto the following description of an embodiment thereof and tothe drawingof which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a bowling alley embodying theinvention.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the approach portion of the alley,showing the several parts separately.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4, showing the approachplatform shimmed up.

Bowling alleys are customarily laid by placing 1" 3 strips of hard woodon edge, side by side, on a rigid level foundation so that the upperside edges of the strips form the surface of the alley which iscarefully planed. Figure 1 illustrates an alley I0 of this kind. At thefurther end of the alley pins ll are customarily set up to be knockedintol a pit l2 by balls I3 which are rolled from behind a foul line l5.This foul line is of a distinctive color and the bowler is not supposedto cross this line.. The approach 2E! of the alley is usually ofsufficient length to allow the bowler a few forward steps to the foulline to deliver a ball. It is this portion of the alley that is subjectto the hardest wear as the bowler usually slides up to the foul line.According to the invention the entire alley is laid as usual, but theapproach is cut away to the depth of an inch or so as shown in Figures 2and 3, forming a step 2l which is a continuous extension of the mainportion of the alley. On the supporting surface 22 of this step issecured a 10 removable platform 25. Assuming that the approach portionof the alley has been cut away so that the surface 22 is just one inchlower than the surface of the alley l0, the platform 25 may be made o-fl" 1 strips which are preferably 15 secured together so that theplatform is a unitary structure. In order to make a compact structurewith an even, level surface, the strips 2B may be formed with lateraltongues and grooves as at 21, and may be secured together as by nails28, as indicated in Figure 4. If desired, a friction element 35 may bemounted on the surface 22 so as to be iiush with the alley surfacebetween the edge of the platform 25 and the foul line l5. This frictionelement may be 25 a strip of any suitable material such asI a. fibrecomposition having a coefficient of friction considerably greater thanthat of smooth wood. The object of the friction strip is to check thefinal portion of the slide of a bowler approaching the 30 foul line soas to prevent the bowler sliding across the foul line. The frictionstrip, however, is not essential to the present invention.

The platform 25 may be secured on the surface 22 in any convenient orsuitable manner. As 35 shown, a number of ordinary wood screws may beemployed, these wood screws being preferably countersunk for a distanceof about onehalf inch in the platform 25 so that' a wooden plug 36 maybe inserted over the head of each 40 screw and planed off flush. If thesurface 22 is carefully finished so as to be substantially plane andlevel, it is evident that the platform 25 can be finished to a correctthickness before installation so that when secured on the surface 22 its45 upper surface will be ush with the surface of the alley I0. Thus theplatform can be quickly installed and can be quickly removed forreplacement by another platform.

When a platform 25 becomes worn so as to 50 need resurfacing, it may beremoved and replaced by another platform without substantialinterruption in the use of the alley. The worn surface of the platform25 may then be planed down to form a fresh plane surface. As thisinvolves removal of material from the surface of the platform, a shim 40is installed under the platform when it is replaced on the step 2 I. Bymaking the thickness of the shim 40 and the depth of material planedfrom the platform equal to each other, the new surface of the platformwill be ush with the alley surface when the platform is secured in placeupon the shim, as indicated in Figure 5. This process of resurfacing maybe continued a number of times until the platform is planed down to thetongues 2l, each resurfacing operation being accompanied by the use of athicker shim 40 or additional shims to compensate for the materialremoved from the top of the platform by resurfacing operations.

It is evident that various modifications and changes may be made in thedetails of construction herein shown and described, without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the followingclaims.

I claim:

1. A bowling alley having a foul line and an approach terminating atsaid foul line, said approach having a foundation layer and a surfacelayer, said surface layer being in the form of a unitary platformremovably secured on the foundation layer flush with the main surface ofthe alley.

2. A bowling alley having a continuous structure from end to end ofwooden strips laid edgewise and extending longitudinally of the alley,said strips being cut away at the approach portion of the alley to forma step having a supporting surface in a plane lower than the plane ofthe alley surface, and a unitary platform removably secured on saidfoundation surface flush with the alley surface.

3. A bowling alley having a continuous structure from end to end ofwooden strips laid edgewise and 'extending longitudinally of the alley,said strips being cut away at the approach portion of the alley to forma step having a supporting surface in a plane lower than the plane ofthe alley surface, a shim on said supporting surface and a removableplatform on said shim, the upper surface of said platform being flushwith and forming a continuation of the alley surface.

4. A method of repairing a bowling alley approach having a removablesurface portion, which comprises removing said surface portion as aunit, removing suiicient material from the surface to restore thesurface to a substantially true plane, and replacing said portion with ashim thereunder having a thickness equal to the thickness of thematerial removed.

BEE BORDERS.

